In total you spend about one third of your life on your mattress, so it plays a big part in your general health and well being, not to mention your day-to-day energy levels, alertness and mood. That’s why it’s important to look for signs that it may be old and tired and once you spot these signs, you should reall change your mattress. Here are some of the things to keep in mind.

Change your mattress for a good sleep

If you wake up in the morning with stiffness, or aches and pains it could be that your mattress isn’t providing the level of support and comfort it needs to. Feeling tired throughout the day and sleeping better in a hotel bed than your own bed are also signs that your mattress might be on the way out.

Is your mattress coping with changes in your body?

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If you’re a couple of stone heavier, or even lighter, than you were a few years ago, it’s possible that your body could have changed to the extent where your existing mattress is no longer comfortable. This also applies to children’s mattresses, which can’t adapt by themselves to the growing demands of kids.

Is your mattress showing signs of wear and tear?

If you can see a visible dip in the middle, or if you can feel the springs through it, then it’s definitely time to change your mattress. The same goes for a noisy mattress too. If it’s creaking, groaning and pinging all night long, then it’s obviously not in a sound condition.

Is your mattress keeping your partner awake?

An ageing mattress doesn’t reduce motion transfer like it should and this can cause big problems in a shared bed. A good mattress needs to support both sleepers in equal comfort, not just one.

Is your mattress a home for unwanted guests?

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Old and worn mattresses can provide welcome accommodation for allergens, dead skin cells, dust mites, germs and even bedbugs. And this can happen even if you wash your sheets regularly.

Is your mattress older than 8 years old?

This is the clincher. Both the mattress industry and the Sleep Council strongly recommend that you replace a mattress every eight years, because by this time it will have lost much of its original comfort and support.

We appreciate that a mattress is hidden under sheets and blankets for most of its life, so it’s not always obvious what condition it’s in, but if it’s starting to give you any of the problems we’ve mentioned then it’s probably time to say goodbye and buy yourself a new one.

Do you think you need to change your mattress? A better sleep could be just a mattress away . . .